The American Dream fades as deportation haunts South Asian migrants

For undocumented South Asian migrants in the U.S., the specter of a three-letter word—ICE—constantly looms.

Two of Sanjesh Mishra's friends were deported following raids by ICE, short for the United States' Immigration and Customs Department.

Mishra, a 29-year-old medical student residing in a rundown area of Bronx, New York, is still dealing with a sense of shock.

“M* and I both came together from India a year ago. I am on an F-1 student visa but he was seeking asylum,” he told Nukta.

M*, with whom Mishra shared lodging, was deported to Amritsar, India in mid-February after an ICE raid. He was among 332 Indians on a jet that took deportees to their home countries.

“It was 9 p.m. I heard someone thumping at the main door while the police siren was flooding the neighborhood,” Mishra said.

M* was terrified and not opening the door, he recalled. “His paperwork was still in process.”

Mishra fears for M*'s safety as he was trying to escape dangerous family feuds in his village next to Ambala, in India.

Rising deportations

Until 2022, 11 million undocumented migrants lived in the U.S., making up 3% of the total population, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Mass deportation of undocumented migrants was one of President Donald Trump’s key campaign promises. Initiating the deportation process topped the list of the 70 executive orders he signed on his first day in office last month.

The sight of handcuffed deportees flown out on military jets and sent to Central American countries has sparked mixed reactions among Americans. While many express concern on social media, urging officials to ensure deportations are carried out with dignity, others—particularly those with a more hardline stance on immigration—see it as a necessary step in the right direction.

An Indian immigrant deported from the U.S. walks out of the airport in Ahmedabad, India February 6, 2025. Reuters

Mishra's other friend B* was taken to a detention center in Panama, a country in Latin America that has struck a deal with the Trump administration to detain asylum seekers temporarily.

B*, 22, came to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2022 on a B1-B2 visit visa to see a cousin but decided to stay. As a social media influencer, he made videos that clashed with the Taliban's strict moral laws, Mishra said.

“I got a call from his mother going frantic because she could not get through to him on the phone,” Mishra said.

“This is crazy, even his attorney has no idea how B* was doing in Panama,” he said.

Cost of deportations

Haroen Calehr, a Texas-based immigration lawyer, is skeptical of the deportation plan, which costs U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Senate recently passed a framework bill that could allocate $175 billion for border enforcement and mass deportation, potentially passing without a single Democratic vote.

"Repatriation is not easy or cheap," Calehr said.

India, with an estimated 200,000 undocumented migrants in the U.S., is the only South Asian country among the top 10 on the list. Official data shows that this number was around 700,000 in 2022.

"The number has significantly dropped since then, as many individuals self-deported or pursued legal pathways," said Bisma Herani, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer specializing in deportation cases.

Mexico tops the list of undocumented migrants in the U.S., followed by Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, the Philippines, other Latin American nations, and China.

A U.S. military plane deporting Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar, India February 5, 2025. Reuters

In 2022, the number of undocumented Pakistani migrants exceeded 45,000. However, due to stricter immigration policies under the Biden administration, that figure has dropped significantly. Most undocumented Pakistanis either left voluntarily or sought legal avenues to stay. Today, their numbers are estimated to be in the low thousands, according to Herani.

Sources say only 16 Pakistanis have been among the recent deportees. Despite an official request from Nukta, the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., has not provided data on the total number of undocumented Pakistanis in the U.S., making it difficult to track the well-being of deported families.

Psychological cost

For many migrants, the fear of being sent back to hostile nations is affecting their physical and mental health—even for those with legal status.

"I have a client from Iran who has lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years," Calehr said. "She calls me every day, terrified of deportation—even though she isn’t at risk."

Deportations have accelerated, leaving little room for asylum seekers to plead their cases. "Cases that were expected to be heard in months or years are now being scheduled hastily, creating an atmosphere of panic and leading to more mistakes," Calehr said.

Even minor offenses, such as a speeding ticket, can now trigger deportation. "It’s often the first point of contact for police to flag a 'suspicious' individual," he added.

Meanwhile, Mishra is living with trauma.

"I can’t get that image out of my head—M being handcuffed. He wasn’t a criminal."*

Despite being on a scholarship to study medicine, Mishra has had a change of heart.

Once he completes his studies, he plans to leave the U.S. and return to his hometown of Delhi.

"The American dream is fading. American values are changing. Maybe I’m not prepared to lose more friends in the process," he said.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy